TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Although the lettering was in pink, the
message on the dry erase board awaiting the North Carolina A&T men's
basketball team as it walked in for breakfast Monday morning could not have
been clearer and come across anymore masculine.

Before his men walked in, Alexander wrote: "Compete harder
than FAMU. Play with upper Division I level intensity."

He got what he wanted Monday night as the Aggies came away
with a convincing 68-40 win over Florida A&M at the Al Lawson Center. The
win gave A&T (8-10, 1-2 MEAC) its first conference win of the season. It
also marked just the second time since the shot clock era began (1985-86), the Aggies
have held a conference opponent to 40 points or less. In victory, the Aggies
also put together their largest blowout road win of a conference opponent since
beating Delaware State in Dover, Del., 94-61 on Feb. 8, 1988.

"We've been talking about competing harder lately,"
Alexander said. "When (my team) sees a Seton Hall or a Texas Tech on the schedule,
they know there is a certain level of intensity they must play at in order to
be competitive. That's the reason you play those teams, so you can learn how to
play at that level. We need to bring that level of intensity to our league
play. This is the first game that we actually did that. Hopefully, the guys can
see the result of that, and we can build on it."

Alexander was adamant about the Aggies winning on Monday
because an 0-3 start in the conference would have made it difficult for the
Aggies to win the MEAC regular-season title. Plus, a win gives the Aggies momentum
as they had into a stretch where they play three straight at Corbett Sports
Center, starting on Saturday when they face Howard at 4 p.m.

The Aggies got themselves back into contention with defense.
The Aggies held FAMU to 22.8 percent shooting, including a 1-for-16 showing
from 3-point range. The Aggies remained stingy despite having to go to their
bench early. Within the first 10 minutes of the game, four Aggies had two fouls
and senior DaMetrius Upchurch picked us third with 8:45 remaining in the first
half.

Alexander turned to players he hasn't played in multiple
games such as sophomore forward Waylan Siverand and freshman guards Shaun
Stewart and Khalid King. The result remained the same. The Aggies gave the Rattlers
the scoreless treatment.

"Putting Waylan in there gives us an athletic post player
going into the meat of our conference schedule," Alexander said.

FAMU's Jamari Bradshaw pulled the Rattlers to within five,
14-9, with 7:01 remaining in the first half. The Rattlers would go another six
minutes without a field goal. When Muhammad Abdul-Aleem putback his own rebound
at the buzzer the Aggies held a 23-13 halftime lead. It is the fewest points a
MEAC school has scored against the Aggies in a half since Morgan State scored
just eight points in Jan. 9, 1993.

The Rattlers shot just 16 percent in the first half. "Our
defensive scheme caused them to take a few quick shots," said Alexander. "Obviously
any time you hold a team to 16 percent shooting in a half, it's very good. The
way we played on the defensive end got us some transition points."

As the Rattlers continued to struggle offensively in the
second half, A&T grew its lead to 38-15 four minutes into the second half
as Adrian Powell hit two free throws. The closest the Rattlers were able to close
the lead was 17, 45-28, as Abdul-Aleem scored on a layup with 10:08 remaining.

Lamont Middleton led A&T with 18 points and seven
rebounds. Powell added 14 points and four assists. Abdul-Aleem led the Rattlers
(4-13, 1-2 MEAC) with nine.

"We're back in the race so to speak. So we just need to
return home and keep our same intensity," said Alexander.